1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotisserie and, more specifically, to such a rotisserie, which is equipped with a lighting fixture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Following the development of the present era, people care more about the taste and style of personal recreational life. Therefore, the activity of barbecue that fits all members of every family and their relatives and friends has become more and more popularly accepted. Various barbecue grills and the like have been commercialized. However, these apparatus are commonly simple in shape, neither humanized nor practical in use. When selecting a grill from two similar products having a reasonable price, humanization and practical use are the key points to consider. In order to survive in the competitive market, barbecue apparatus manufacturers must try hard to improve their products in humanization and practical use. Without humanization and practical use, one""s barbecue products will be defeated in the free market.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art rotisserie available in the market. According to this design, the rotisserie 10 comprises a housing 11 defining a cooking chamber 111 for holding cooking implements such as burners, cooking grid, coals (not shown). The housing 11 comprises a first rack 12 and a second rack 13 at two opposite sides of the cooking chamber 111. The first rack 12 comprises a flat mounting frame 121 and a top notch 124. The mounting frame 121 has a plurality of through holes 122 for the mounting of screws 123 to fix the first rack 12 to the housing 11. The second rack 13 is a zigzag plate member having a vertically extended top bearing wall 133, a vertically extended bottom mounting wall 132, and a middle connecting wall 131 horizontally connected between the vertically extended top bearing wall 133 and the vertically extended bottom mounting wall 132. The bottom mounting wall 132 has a plurality of through holes 134 for the mounting of screws 135 to fix the second rack 13 to the housing 11 opposite to the first rack 12. The top bearing wall 133 has a top notch 136 disposed above the housing 11 corresponding to the top notch 124 of the first rack 12.
The rotisserie further comprises a motor case 14 fastened to the top bearing wall 133 of the second rack 13 to hold a reversible motor (not shown) on the inside. The motor case 14 comprises two coupling elements 141 bilaterally located on the back wall thereof and respectively coupled to the top bearing wall 133 of the second rack 13 and stopped at the connection area between the top bearing wall 133 and the middle connecting wall 131 to secure the motor case 14 to the second rack 13, and an axle hole 142 in the back wall between the coupling elements 141 corresponding to the top notch 136 of the second rack 13. The rotisserie also comprises a rod member 15 supported in the top notch 124 of the first rack 12 and the top notch 136 of the second notch 13 and inserted through the axle hole 142 and axially coupled to the output shaft of the motor inside the motor case 14. The rod member comprises two movable forks 151 adapted to hold the food to be roasted. Further, a power cord 143 extends to the outside of the motor case 14 for connection to external power source.
The aforesaid rotisserie is functional, however it still has drawbacks. When roasting meat in the housing 11 of the rotisserie 10 in the daylight or under sufficient illumination, the user can check the roasting status of the meat with the eyes, and know accurately when the meat is well done. However, when roasting meat in the dark, the user may not be able to see the roasting status of the meat well, and have to cut a small piece of the meat under roasting and then eat the cut piece so as to inspect the roasting status of the meat. It is not hygienic to examine the roasting status of the meat in this way because the user may eat not well-cooked food. It is harmful to the user when the user ate food that is not well cooked. Therefore, this conventional rotisserie is not perfect in design, not humanized, and not practical in use. Improvements on this design are necessary.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a humanized and practical rotisserie that enables the user to visually check the roasting status of the food.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide a rotisserie, which is equipped with a lighting fixture for providing illumination when cooking in the dark. It is another object of the present invention to provide a rotisserie, which has a power jack for power output.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the rotisserie comprising a housing defining a cooking chamber, a rod member adapted to hold food in the cooking chamber for roasting, and a rotary motor drive provided at one side of the housing and adapted to rotate the rod member in the cooking chamber, wherein the rotary motor drive comprises: a motor case holding a motor, the motor case having an axle hole into which the rod member is inserted and coupled to the motor; coupling means adapted to secure the motor case to one side of the housing; and a lighting fixture mounted on the motor case and adapted to illuminate the cooking chamber. According to another aspect of the present invention, a power jack is provided at the motor case and electrically connected to the power cord of the motor case for power output.